Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 5 / Trend , E.Ismayilov /
An idea of building a new pipeline in Turkey, which will allow Azerbaijan to secure its gas exports to Europe, became the third option considered for the country's gas transit, a senior official at the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) told reporters on Saturday.
He said prior top this there were considered two options, including expansion of existing gas infrastructure in Turkey and construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline.
Possible construction of a new pipeline does not contradict the realization of other projects aimed at transporting the Azerbaijani gas to Europe, including Nabucco, the senior official said. It is just one alternative options for the Azerbaijani gas transit.
Baku and Ankara is considering building a new pipeline in Turkey, which will deliver gas from the east to the west of the country to the border with Bulgaria or Greece.
The pipeline will be constructed to pump an additional 16 billion cubic meters of gas per year under the Shah Deniz-2 project, which involves the full-scale development of Azerbaijan's largest Shah Deniz offshore gas field.
The peak production at the field is projected at 9 billion cubic meters and 50,000 barrels of condensate in the first phase. Based on expectations, gas production from the field will reach 24 billion cubic meters per year within the Shah Deniz-2.
Reserves of the Shah Deniz field are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.
The contract to develop the offshore Shah Deniz field was signed June 4, 1996. Participants in the agreement are: BP (operator) - 25.5 percent, Statoil Hydro - 25.5 percent, NICO - 10 percent, Total - 10 percent, LukAgip - 10 percent, TPAO - 9 percent, SOCAR-10 percent.